The One Thing I Would Buy

 

 

I was thinking recently about the question, “If there was one thing I would buy for my program to increase scores in the Environment Rating System (ERS), what would it be?”

I think my answer would be a good set of diverse play people.

These people would pack a big bang for the buck –

·         they count as “people” accessories for the block play item

·         they count as gender diversity, age diversity, ability diversity and race diversity in materials for the diversity item

·         There are sets appropriate for toddlers, too

You can find these play people in a variety of catalogs, and in a variety of sets.  Try to find ones that have age, gender, ability and race diversity all in one set, if possible.

Many other items in the ERS can be homemade, bought at the dollar store, or thrift shop.  A good set of play people would be worth a little investment.

Easy Sand Play

Some teachers are hesitant to provide sand play, but here is a great idea to make outdoor sand play very easy all year.

An inexpensive tent provides shade, keeps the sand mostly inside, allows easy view/supervision by the adults and zips up when not in use to keep the cats out!

What  a great idea!!

Keys to the Assessments

Advance Your Planning

At our reflective practice group this, Kasturi led us in a great activity she created that takes activity planning to the next level.

 

Each person was provided with a “plate” divided into 3 sections, and an activity to plan.  They were given magazines and early childhood catalogs to select materials for the activity and glue on1/3 of the plate. 

This part of planning is pretty typical.  We plan activities daily for the children.

Then,  the planning went to the next level.  In addition to planning the activity, Kasturi asked the group to also plan ways to extend the activity (writing them in another 1/3 of the plate).

Then, Kasturi asked the group to pre-plan conversations and open ended questions.  This is such a great idea since being skilled at asking open ended questions takes practice, and pre-planning can make it much easier.

Take your planning from Planning 101 to Planning 201 by planning how to extend the activity and planning your interactions!

Word Cloud

Here is a word cloud from the content of this blog

Three is the Magic Number

Three is the Magic Number

In the ERS (Environment Rating Scale), there are many items that have minimum quantities for the highest rating.  In most cases, that quantity is 3-5. 

Aim to have at least three of the following accessible most of the day to the children:

Preschoolers

Books

·         Fantasy

·         Nature/science

·         People

·         Factual

·         Ability diversity

·         Race/culture

·         Animals

Fine Motor

·         Small building materials

·         Art materials

·         Manipulatives

·         Puzzles

Art

·         Drawing items

·         Paints

·         3D materials

·         Collage items

·         Tools

Music/Movement

·         Types of recorded music

·         Dance props

Dramatic Play

·         Male dress ups

·         Female dress ups

·         Cultural diversity

Nature/Science

·         Collections of natural objects

·         Living things

·         Books, toys, games

·         Activities

Math/Number

·         Counting

·         Written numbers

·         Measuring

·         Comparing quantities

·         Shapes

Diversity (found in books, pictures and materials)

·         Race

·         Culture

·         Ages

·         Abilities

·         Gender

Some items require more than 3-5:  music instruments, soft toys and kinds of skills outside

 

Toddlers

Books

·         Race

·         Age

·         Abilities

·         Animals

·         Familiar experiences

·         Familiar objects

Fine Motor

·         Grasping

·         Shaking

·         Turning

·         Pushing/pulling

·         Poking

·         Putting together

Music

·         Music instruments/toys

·         Types of recorded music

Dramatic Play

·         Dolls

·         Soft animals

·         Pots and pans

·         Telephones

·         Dress ups (toddlers)

·         Dishes and utensils (toddlers)

·         Play foods (toddlers)

·         Doll furnishings (toddlers)

·         Play buildings with accessories

Diversity (found in books, pictures and materials)

·         Race/Culture

·         Ages

·         Abilities

·         Gender

 Some items require more than 3-5:   soft toys and kinds of skills outside

 

ERS Quantities Brainstorm

ERS Quantities Brainstorm

 

 

 

At our February Reflective Practice Group, we played a BINGO like game to look at meeting the quantities of materials needed for the Environment Rating Scale.  Most of these areas need 3-5 items, which can be costly.  Below is the brainstorm from the group of low cost alternatives.  The activity areas we looked at are ones that are often found in our practice assessments to be lacking.

 

Activity Area	You might find this at the Dollar Store	You might find this at a Thrift Shop	You might find this at home, homemade or free	You might find this at someplace like Target or Fred Meyer	You might need to get this from an ECE catalog
Props for sand or water play	Sand molds, buckets, plastic shovels, flowers, measuring cups, watering cans, funnels, tubing, spoons, strainers, wash cloths	Sifters, shells, measuring cups, fish, egg beaters, basters, gems, whisks, funnels, colanders, pitchers, trucks/cars,	Sponges, towels, syringes, basters, leaves, shells, tubs, ice, food color, shells, sticks,	Trucks, cups, food color, baby soap, water wheels, molds, scoops, basters, cloths, sponges, animals, fish, rakes, buckets, PVC tubes	Test tubes, tubing, glitter, animals, dolls, beakers, boats, water wheel, tubs, cars, pipettes
Manipulatives (vs. small building materials)	Buttons, beads, pegs	Zippers, links, peg boards, lacing items	Snaps, lacing cards, geoboards, shoes and laces, Beads for stringing, put/take box	Stretchy balls, geoboards	Chain links, nuts/bolts, peg boards, lacing cards, pop beads, locks boards
Counting	Glass counters, straws, dice, dominoes, cards, pomp poms, calculators	Glass rocks, clock, buttons, ice cube trays, muffin tins	Buttons, calendars, make graphs, rocks, Beans, play money, egg cartons, homemade math games	Dominoes, playing cards, toothpicks, play money, number chart	Unifix cubes, Abacus, teddy bear counters, cash register, clock, timers, number chart
2nd dramatic play theme – Post Office	Envelopes, hats, manila envelopes, maps, boxes, calendar, play money, stamps. Cards, rubber finger, stamp pad, rubber bands, pencils, stickers	Satchels, blue (USPS) or brown (UPS) shirts, cards, maps, phone, scale	Mailbox, junk mail, packaging, signs, stamps, packing peanuts, forms, newspapers, shoe boxes, make price chart, boxes, scale, keyboard, paper, print pictures of post office from web	Stamps, postcards, bubble wrap, date rubber stamp, stationery, address labels, tape, envelopes, mailboxes, maps	Scales, scanners, play money, mail boxes, uniforms, cash registers, nametags, mail trucks, hats
3D art materials	Playdough, foam, pipe cleaners, toothpicks, straws, craft sticks		Homemade doughs, paper tubes and boxes, Styrofoam, wood	PVC pipes, tubes,  foam, boxes, playdough, clay	Clays
Movement props	Scarves, wands, ribbons, streamers, bean bags, balls	Tap/ballet shoes, hula skirts, scarves	Ankle bells, bean bags, scarves, streamers, ribbons	Feathers, hoops, CD player	Bean bags, yoga cards
Diversity in dramatic play (cultural, ability, male/female)	Ethnic dishes, jewelry, glasses (lenses out), hats	Male and female dress-ups, ethnic dishes, crutches, wheelchair, cane, walker, wok	Glasses (lenses out), male and female dress-ups, take out menus from local ethnic restaurants, empty food containers,	Bento boxes, magazines, ethnic cook books, male and female dress-ups, Asian dishes, jewelry	Multicultural dolls, dolls with disabilities, posters/pictures, books, play foods, ethnic kitchen sets, world play money
Measuring	Measuring cups and spoons, rulers, tape measure, yard stick	Measuring spoons and cups, timer, rulers, scales	Tape measure, bathroom scale, height chart, graphing, yardstick timer	Yardstick, rulers, scales, timers, tape measure, measuring cups and spoons, height chart, stopwatch	Scale, height chart, timers